A Knitter’s Blog

30 Responses to “Yarn Over Simplified”

1. Mir, on July 15th, 2007 at 5:58 pm Said:

   now that I got how to make the stitch…what do I do with it when I get to the other (purl) side?

2. Melanie, on July 15th, 2007 at 11:52 pm Said:

   Thank You! Yarn overs always seemed so complicated to me when they are really very simple! This was just what I needed

3. cwulster, on July 16th, 2007 at 9:08 am Said:

   Mir,
   I am not sure I understand the question. Are you asking, what do you do when you reach the YO on the next row? If so, then either knit or purl the loop, just as you would a stitch.
   If this is not your question, please clarify.
   Regards,
   Carole

4. Jennifer, on July 16th, 2007 at 2:16 pm Said:

   Thank you so much for this!! I understood the YO when between knit-knit or purl-purl, but you finally clarified for me how to do between knit-purl and purl-knit. None of my books shows this!

   Jennifer

5. Jennifer, on July 18th, 2007 at 3:06 pm Said:

   I just wanted to add something. As I was following your instructions for YO between a knit and a purl (k1, yo, p1), I found the yo stitch was oriented incorrectly, which made the next round of k sts (I’m working in the round) difficult at that point. I found another explanation for the yo between a knit and a purl that worked much better and oriented the stitch correctly (and saved me from unraveling for the umpteenth time):

   “Knit the knit stitch, then wrap the yarn around the working needle from back to front, slipping it under, then take it again back to the wrong side of work, slipping it on the needle and bring it once more in front, purl the purl stitch.”

   Essentially, you bring the yarn back under as if you are about to do a normal purl, then you wrap the yarn over the working (right) needle and back under - a complete wrap around the needle and in the correct position to start a purl.

6. Anne Slater, on August 2nd, 2007 at 12:41 pm Said:

   HUGE sigh of relief!! I have been knitting for over 50 years, and finally, in attempteng my first lace-weight shawl, have to do YOU after purls, and between K and P…. Thank you Carol (your blog came up when I googled “yarn over”, and thank you Jennifer.
   Anne in Ardmore, PA

7. Jackie, on September 4th, 2007 at 2:55 pm Said:

   I wonder if you can help me understand something? I’m reading a lace pattern and I’m confused. It says “yo, sl 2 knitwise, k1″ when I do this I end up with the yarn over going diagonally accros the two slipped stitches. What am I doing wrong?

   Thanks for your help

8. Barb Rickman, on October 17th, 2007 at 8:33 am Said:

   How do you do a yarn over at the beginning of a knit or purl row? My pattern says to yo, k1. How do I do the yo at the start of the row, before the k1?

   bjr

9. jami, on December 8th, 2007 at 8:54 pm Said:

   i have the same question as jackie and barb. my pattern starts with a yo — i made a swatch knitting the first stitch, then doing the yo, followed with the ssk and so on. it came out well, and i kept the right amount of stitches, but i want to know if there is a way to yarn over, without knitting into the first stitch.
   ex. yo, ssk, k9 and so on.
   thanks,
   j.

10. cwulster, on December 8th, 2007 at 9:27 pm Said:

    When the YO is first…
    On the knit side:
    The working yarn is hanging from the left needle. Before inserting the right needle into the first stitch, bring the right needle from behind the working yarn toward you. Then insert the right needle into the first stitch and work as directed. The working yarn will have formed the YO before the first stitch.

    I am using the term first stitch to refer to however you are directed to work the next step in your pattern. I could be the SSK to which Jami referred or it slip 2 or a k1.
    I hope this helps.
    Carole

11. neena, on December 16th, 2007 at 1:24 pm Said:

    Hi Jennifer
    You sure explained Yarn Over in a purl really well…I think in English books its given as yarn around needle which is much simpler to understand

12. Leah, on January 2nd, 2008 at 10:16 am Said:

    Please have someone post a video for this:

    Yarn Over Between a Knit Stitch and a Purl Stitch:
    Knit the first stitch. The yarn is in back. Purl the next stitch without passing the yarn to the front. A loop will automatically form over the needle between the two stitches which is the YO.

    Yarn Over Between a Purl Stitch and a Knit Stitch:
    Purl the first stitch. The yarn is in front. Do not pass the yarn to the back. Insert the needle into the next stitch as to knit, and knit the stitch. The YO is formed by the yarn going over the working needle to knit the stitch.

    I’m confused. Thanks.
    Leah angelleah1981@yahoo.com

13. patty, on January 9th, 2008 at 3:07 pm Said:

    I am new to knitting, my instructions say to yo, knit 1, yo. I have attempted this several times and am not sure if I am making it more difficult than it actually is. As I understand now, to yo, this includes to knit 1. So, would that complete what my instructions say to do??

14. Carl, on March 31st, 2008 at 8:08 pm Said:

    what i wanted to find out is if the yo is 1st before a knit st.
    i’m working a pattern that says
    row:[yo,ssk,k3] to end
    the cast on is 48 sts and if i do this how many sts should i have and how do i do the yo
    thanks Carl

15. cwulster, on April 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am Said:

    Carl,
    The yo makes a new stitch and the ssk reduces one stitch. Therefore if you do a YO before each ssk, you will end up with the same number of stitches as the number with which you started.

    YO before the first stitch: The working yarn is hanging from the first stitch on the left needle. Place the right needle behind the the working yarn that is hanging. Bring the right needle tip toward you, between the working yarn and the left needle. You will have a loop on the right needle with the working yarn hanging in front.

    Take the working yarn under the right needle and work your ssk.

    Carole

16. Lana, on August 19th, 2008 at 9:23 am Said:

    Thanks so much for this explanation! I have a quick question though, the pattern I’m using says k 1, *YO, k2tog, repeat from * to end. So when I do this, do I bring the yarn to the front, then knit a stitch then knit 2 together? Or should I be bringing the yarn in front and then immediately knitting 2 together? I’m a bit confused as to whether a yarn over includes a stich after the yarn is brought forward or if it is simply the yarn being moved to the front… (it’s a scarf pattern, so I don’t want to increase the total number of stitches - I cast on 17st, but when I got to the end of the first row I had 18st… ) Also, do I have to do anything different on the ‘wrong side’? My pattern says “this row forms pattern” so I’m guessing I should do the same both sides?
    Hope someone can help!

    Thanks!

    Lana

17. cwulster, on August 19th, 2008 at 6:56 pm Said:

    Hi Lana,
    You would insert the needle into the first two stitches with your yarn in the front. When you pass the yarn between the two needles to complete the stitch, you will have a YO just before the k2tog. It will happen automatically.

    By the way, please read your directions again. There are probably plain rows between the pattern rows. I doubt that the pattern row is the only row in the pattern, but I may be wrong. Your wrong side rows may be knit or purled?

    Thanks for commenting.
    Carole

18. Carole C., on August 22nd, 2008 at 9:47 pm Said:

    Hi, I have a similar question that Lana had. I am knitting a scarf and the pattern is K3, *P1, yo, k2tog, rep from* to end K3. The directions say it is a one-row lace pattern. It does not say the next row and every other rows should be knit or purl. I found this odd because when looking at other lace patterns all the patterns either had a knit row or a purl row in between the lace row. Are the directions wrong? When I was doing the next row, it was almost impossible to get the knitting needle into the yo stitch. It is driving me crazy. Hope you can be of help to me. I’m desperate!!!

19. cwulster, on August 26th, 2008 at 11:20 am Said:

    Hi,
    I just worked your pattern as you described. I think you may be off one stitch, somehow.
    After the first row, the YO from the previous row is paired with a k2tog from the previous row which looks like a normal knit stitch.
    You insert your needle in the second stitch on the left needle which is the stitch after the YO. Then continue by inserting the needle into the YO.
    Or maybe the other problem is that you are making a twisted YO. Before you do the YO you have worked a purl stitch. Leave the yarn in front and then work the k2tog. The YO will happen automatically.
    I am only sorry that I am not sitting there with you. I could be more helpful.
    Carole

20. Dagmar Merritt, on October 28th, 2008 at 12:08 am Said:

    My pattern says; Row 32: * YO, sl 1, k tog the YO and sl st of previous row, repeat from * across, end with k 1.
    I have done yarn overs before between a knit and a purl and between a purl and a knit, etc and slipped stitches, but had never encountered this type of direction. How do I do this!? I have 70 stitches on my needle right now. These are directions for baby booties. Please help.
    Thank you very much

21. cwulster, on October 28th, 2008 at 2:58 pm Said:

    Dagmar,
    I am assuming the first YO is what is causing yoiu the problem.
    I am also assuming that your are on the knit side. The yarn is hanging from the back of your left needle waiting for you to work the first stitch which in this case is a YO.
    Take the right needle point and place it behind the yarn that is hanging from the first stitch on the left needle. Bring the needlepoint up toward you. The yarn will now be over the right needle and hanging from the front of the right needle. Pick up the yarn as you would normally do from under the right needle and move the yarn to the back and hold it there. Slip the first stitch. You now have a YO and slipped stitch on the right needle.
    From what I can tell from your directions the next stitch on the needle is a slipped stitch and a YO. You are holding the working yarn to the back. Knit the slipped stitch and YO together.
    I hope this helps.
    Carole

22. Dagmar Merritt, on October 31st, 2008 at 4:25 pm Said:

    I tried it and it worked! Thanks so much!!!

23. heidi, on November 10th, 2008 at 1:50 pm Said:

    Thank you. I knew this was much easier then I was making it.:)

24. Anna, on November 30th, 2008 at 10:31 pm Said:

    Hi, Im making some lacefingerless gloves and my pattern says k1, yo, sl 1 wyib, k1, psso. my question is after I do the yo would I k1 or slip one right after the yo?

25. cwulster, on December 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm Said:

    Dear Anna,
    You will slip 1 right after the yarn over, then knit the next stitch, then pass the slipped stitch over the knit 1.

26. Heather, on December 2nd, 2008 at 4:06 am Said:

    Hi, I’m in need of some help with this lace pattern: Row: 1 & 3 purl, Row: 2 k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to end, Row 4 *ssk, yo, repeat from * to last stitch, k1. I start with an odd # of stitches and on Row 2 I followed the advice given to Lana above. My problem shows up at the end of row 4. After a yo I have 2 stitches left. If I use both of these for a ssk, I lose a stitch, and it just doesn’t seem right to knit both. For such a simple sounding pattern, I am very confused!

27. Susan, on December 5th, 2008 at 1:53 am Said:

    Hi,
    My first stitch is slip stitch, then yo, k3, sl 1, k2 tog, psso, k3, yo, k1…The slip stitch puts the yarn on the right needle. This is my first project and the YO has me at a standstill…lol.
    Thanks,
    Susan

28. cwulster, on December 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am Said:

    Heather,
    You should not have two sts remaining at the end of Row 4.
    You have a repeat of 3 sts + 1. The + 1 st is at the beginning of row 2 and the end of row 4. But you should have a multiple of 3 sts plus that 1 stitch.
    For example. if you are working on 7 sts
    Row 1: Purl 7 sts
    Row 2: k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog = 7 sts
    Row 3: Purl 7 sts
    Row 4: ssk, yo, ssk, yo, ssk,yo, k1 = & sts
    I hope this helps.
    Carole

29. cwulster, on December 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am Said:

    Susan,
    Slip the first stitch as if to purl. The stitch is now on the right and needle as you said. The working yarn is hanging from the back of the stitch. Bring the yarn to the front between the needle points, now knit the next stitch (the first of the the knit 3). Your yarn will be going over the top of the right needle creating the YO.
    I hope this helps.
    Carole

30. Susan, on December 5th, 2008 at 11:41 am Said:

    oh, thank you, thank, thank you!

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